Brought into the Darkness
by Kirihime
Summary: AU. The level 5's are separated from their school. The five friends begin to attend their new schools like it's normal. However, Accelerator and Teitoku know that there's something going on. There's somebody manipulating their lives from the shadows. What exactly are the higher ups planning? The friends will be pulled into the darkness trying to figure out who's behind it all.
1. Prologue - Separated

The black-haired boy sat in his desk, staring out the window. Clouds covered the sky, so only a minimal amount of sunlight reached the classroom. His blue eyes stared vacantly outside, his mind wandering. He paid no attention to the lesson being held while his fingers tapped absently on the notebook on his desk.

"Oi, Accelerator. Are you paying attention?"

The voice of a woman brought him out of his peaceful thoughts. He turned his head to look at the teacher, Yomikawa Aiho. She was holding an open book in her hand labeled "English". Her back was to the board and she stood behind a podium. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and her blue eyes stared at him.

The teacher's words had the entire class staring at the boy.

"You know, this is going to be on the test, so you should-" Aiho was cut off by the boy's next words.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll pay more attention." Accelerator said with a dismissive wave.

"Listen here…" Aiho started before she was cut off by a tone signaling that the class had ended. She closed the book in her hands and began to walk out. "Start paying more attention." She said on her way out, but the boy paid her no mind.

Accelerator picked up his notebook and pen and put them back into his bag and stood up. He looked to his right as a girl approached him.

The girl's shoulder-length brown hair swayed as she made her way over to him. Her short uniform skirt swayed with her hair as she walked over. It was his childhood friend and classmate – Misaka Mikoto.

"You know," Mikoto started as she stopped in front of the boy. "You should really pay more attention! We're in high school now, so you should act like it." Her hands were held behind her back as she looked up at him with those brown eyes of hers. Her silver hairclip glinted in the small amount of sunlight that reached them.

"I am acting like it." Accelerator countered. "I just know this stuff already, so why should I have to take notes and listen to his boring lectures? Besides," He mumbled. "You're in the middle school section. You're just taking high school classes."

"Look here…" Mikoto said with a twinge of annoyance in her voice. "We were very lucky to make it into Nagatenjouki Academy. It's a privilege to be able to attend this school. Not many people get in here. You need top grades and a lot of money or a scholarship to get in."

Accelerator sighed as the girl continued her lecture on how he should act more mature. He sighed. This was a conversation they had already had many times. They had only been in school for a little over a month and yet this was the fifth time Mikoto had given him this lecture. Finally, he smiled and placed a hand on her head.

"Look. I promise I'll pay more attention, so stop lecturing me already, okay?" He ruffled her hair with his hand gently.

"I'm just worrying about you." Mikoto said as she looked down.

"Come on, if you look like that, you'll make me sad." Accelerator said as he removed his hand from her head and returned it to his side.

Mikoto smiled up at him. "Good!" She said.

"Now, go grab your bag and let's grab something to eat on the way home."

"Right!" Mikoto ran back over to her desk near the center of the classroom and picked up her bag. Accelerator grabbed his bag and walked over. "Let's go!" Mikoto said energetically as she led the way out of the classroom, the boy following closely behind her.

They walked down the hallway, which was usually packed with students, but since it was Friday, most of them had rushed out of the school. The only exceptions being those who had club activities. Meetings on Friday's was one of the reasons Accelerator had chosen not to join a club. He preferred to have his weekend free so he could hang out with friends or do whatever he wanted.

"So, Mikoto," Accelerator said, getting the girl's attention. "Should we go alone, or get somebody else?" He could think of several people who would enjoy going with them.

"I wonder…" Mikoto said as she put a finger to her lips in thought.

Just then, a blonde haired boy with dark eyes tapped Accelerator on the shoulder as he matched his pace. "Hey, Accelerator, Mikoto." It was Kakine Teitoku, a boy the two had met in their early years of middle school. The three had quickly become good friends.

Accelerator turned and smiled. "Hey, Teitoku. I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Hey, Teitoku." Mikoto said with a smile.

"So, what are you two doing to do?" Teitoku asked as they continued their walk down the hallway. They reached a set of stairs and began their descent.

"We were just thinking about grabbing something to eat." Mikoto replied. "Do you want to come with us?" She kept pace with Accelerator down the steps while Teitoku ran down them and waited, looking up at the two.

"Hm… It's Friday, so why not? It's not like I have any plans or anything."

"Good." Accelerator said as the two reached the boy. "So, can you think of anybody else who would like to come?" The three began to make their way towards the school's entrance.

Teitoku thought for a few seconds. The groups footsteps echoed off the walls off yet another empty hallway. "How about Misaki? I'm sure she would love to come."

"Ah, good idea." Accelerator said, taking out his cellphone. "I'll give her a call."

The three reached the empty entrance and switched their shoes. Accelerator went through his contacts for a few seconds before reaching the one he was looking for. He clicked the call button and brought the phone to his ear as the group walked out of the school.

After a few seconds a voice answered from the other side.

"Hello?" Accelerator heard a girl's voice say.

"Hey, Misaki. It's Accelerator." He replied.

"Oh, Accelerator! Hey! Is something up?"

"Teitoku, Mikoto, and I were just going to grab a bite to eat. Do you want to come along?"

"Yes! I'd love to!" The voice replied from the other side. "I left with some friends, but I can meet you there. Where are we going?"

"The usual." The boy replied.

"Okay! I'll be waiting!" Accelerator heard the sound that signaled that the girl had hung up.

"Well," Accelerator said as they walked through the school grounds. "Looks like Misaki's up for it." They exited the school grounds and made their way through the streets of the city.

The friends lived in Academy City. Its name was derived from the amount of middle schools, high schools, and universities that filled the city. Out of 2.3 million people living in the city, 80% were students. Academy City was also unique in another way, the technology in the city was around 20 years more advanced than the rest of the world. This city in Japan had another unique quality to it. All of the students in the city were Espers. An Esper was a person who had been injected with chemicals and had other procedures done to their bodies in order to acquire supernatural powers.

However, these supernatural powers do not make a person all-powerful. Espers can only use their powers for a small period of time before they need to recharge again. Also, the person needed to go through complex calculations in their mind to actually use their power efficiently. How efficient one is with their power, along with the amount of time they are able to keep it active for, determines the Esper's level. The levels range from level 0, which are those with no powers, to level 5, which are those who are incredibly powerful. As of now, there are only seven level 5's in the entire city.

The most time a person has been able to activate their power for is thirty minutes, and that person is…

Accelerator looked up as the group walked down one of the various streets. They walked by many shops and stopped a few times for Mikoto to look in the window to see what they had. After taking a good fifteen minutes more than they should have, the group arrived at the restaurant.

Accelerator pushed the door open and allowed Mikoto and Teitoku to walk in before he entered.

A waitress ran up to the three. She looked like one of those new, overly-positive waitresses. "Just 3? Would you like a table or a booth?" She asked with a kind smile. The girl looked kind of young to be a waitress. She had dark blue hair and eyes to match. She wore a blue skirt with a blue shirt and a nametag that said: Tsuchimikado Maika.

"Actually," Teitoku said. "We're meeting somebody here."

"Heeey! Over here!" A voice called out, drawing the group's attention.

They looked over to see a girl waving at them from across the restaurant. The three walked past the waitress and made their way over to the booth she sat at. The booth was large enough to fit three people on each side, so Accelerator and Teitoku sat on one side, while the girls sat on the other.

This girl, Shokuhou Misaki, has long blonde hair that fell below her waist. She had eyes that were a nice shade of yellow. She also wore the Nagatenjouki uniform and carried a small white purse with her.

"Hey, Misaki." Teitoku said as they took their seats. "Sorry we kept you waiting. Mikoto here had to stop and take a look at every shop we passed by."

"Hey!" Mikoto said before Misaki put her hands up to try to calm her down.

"It's okay, really. I was only waiting for a few minutes." She smiled at the group. "Which reminds me!" She said suddenly, making the three look at her. "I invited Gunha, so he should be here soon as well."

"Oh yeah." Accelerator said, thinking. "I was thinking about inviting him, but it slipped my mind."

"Nice to know you think about me!" A voice said from the side.

The group looked over to see a boy with black hair and black eyes approaching them. The boy, Sogiita Gunha, walked over to the table and sat down next to Teitoku.

The group greeted him and Maika walked over, asking for their orders. After they had placed their orders, the group relaxed some.

"Man, I'm glad it's the weekend." Teitoku said. "School's so boring. I wish we didn't have to attend."

"I know what you mean." Accelerator said.

Maika walked over and placed drinks in front of them before bowing and taking her leave.

The group leaned forward and took began to drink from their respective cups. They all leaned back and Mikoto opened her mouth to say something when a loud noise stopped her.

The door was kicked open, breaking some of the glass and a man with a mask on walked in. He held a gun in his right hand which he aimed at the ceiling and shot once, causing some women in the restaurant to scream.

"Everybody stay quiet and don't move!" The man yelled out. He walked over to Maika and pointed the gun at her. "Take all the money out of the register and put it into this!" He shoved a brown bag into her hands. "Now!" He yelled.

Maika began to do as she was told and started putting the money into the bag. Gunha slid out of the booth, followed by Teitoku and Accelerator.

Accelerator walked forward. "Let me handle this." The two nodded at him as he walked forward.

The robbed turned to point the gun at him. "Hey you! I said don't move!"

Accelerator continued to approach the man, not even the slightest hint of fear on his face. "And what are you? Some petty robber with no ability?" He smiled. "That's just sad. You really shouldn't be hurting the weak." He stopped a safe distance from the man.

"No ability!? I'll show you, you asshole!" He held out his left hand and a ball of fire formed in his right hand. "Die!" He yelled as he threw the ball at Accelerator, who made no attempt to dodge it. The ball hit the ground in front of him and erupted into flames all around him.

The group of friends watched from the booth.

"That'll teach you!" The man said with a smile. "Now…" He turned back to Maika.

"Is that really all you have?"

"Wha-?" The robber turned back to the flames just in time to see them start swirling in a torrent. The boy could be seen in the middle of the torrent. The flames spun around him for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving behind a small amount of smoke.

Accelerator stood there, his hair now white and his eyes red. He was completely unscathed and he had a bored expression.

"If that's all you have," Accelerator started. "Then you're more pitiful than I thought."

"What the hell!?" The robbed yelled as he took a step back.

"What's wrong? Never fought someone as powerful as me before?" Accelerator smiled. He started to walk towards the man.

The robber once again pointed the gun at Accelerator, this time aiming for his head. He pulled the trigger and sent a bullet flying at him. The bullet sped towards Accelerator and the second before it made contact with him, it flew back, hitting the man's gun out of his hand and sending it spiraling towards the door.

"Is that all? Now then…" Accelerator said as he took a step forward.

The man reached into his pocket, probably to get another weapon out, but Accelerator didn't give him the chance. Accelerator planted his foot and pushed forward, shooting himself at nearly the speed of sound to stop in front of the man. He grabbed the man's arm with one hand and hit the back of his head with the other, stunning him for a second. Accelerator used this second to kick the man's feet out from under him, letting the man land hard on his back.

The man looked up at the boy and managed to get some words out. "Who… are you?"

"Me?" Accelerator asked, putting a hand to his chest. He frowned and returned his hand to his side as he walked to stand over the man. "I'm Accelerator." He said and kicked the man in the head, making the man lose consciousness.

Accelerator sighed and his hair returned to its normal shade of black except that now, the tips of some of the hair that hung around his neck were a dark shade of grey. His eyes also returned to their normal blue. He walked back over to his friends, ignoring to cheers from the patrons of the restaurant.

"Well, I guess that's that then, huh?" Teitoku said as he clapped Accelerator on the shoulder.

Gunha did the same. "Good job." He said with a smile.

The group took their seats at the boot again.

"That was nice of you." Mikoto said with a smile.

"You were really good." Misaki said with her own smile.

Accelerator looked away. "I just don't like people who hurt others." He said.

In the end, the group got their meals for free and got a thanks form the manager. The group left quickly when they heard that a news crew was on their way to report on the incident.

The group made their way to the dorms and stopped at the entrance.

Accelerator looked down. "So, have you guys already filled out you're transfer forms…?"

The rest of the group looked down as well.

"Yeah." Mikoto said. "I really wish I could keep going to Nagatenjouki… I wish they weren't closing the middle school section."

"Yeah, we'll be going to Tokiwadai Middle School." Misaki said.

"I'll be going to some other high school. I don't even know why they're transferring me." Teitoku replied.

"Yeah." Gunha said. "It's not fair. We should choose where we go. I'll be going to some other high school as well."

"I wonder…" Accelerator said, getting their attention. "Is it because we're the only level 5's in the city?"

"That excludes numbers four and six." Teitoku reminded them.

"Who cares about them?" Mikoto said in a depressed voice. "I don't want to be separated from you guys." She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Calm down." Accelerator said. Today may have been your last day at Nagatenjouki, but that just means that we'll have to have a ton of fun this weekend, right?" Accelerator was the only one staying at Nagatenjouki Academy. He figured that they wanted to separate the level 5's for some reason. Mikoto and Misaki would be attending the same school, but that was probably just because it was the best all-girls school.

"That's right!" Mikoto said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Misaki said cheerfully.

"Of course!" Gunha said.

"You got that right!" Teitoku said.

"Alright then." Accelerator said. "How about we meet at the usual meeting spot?"

After they all agreed and figured out a time, they went to their dorm rooms. Accelerator's room was right next to Teitoku's, so they walked together. Accelerator put his hand on the door knob.

"Hey, Accelerator." Teitoku said, stopping him.

"What is it, Teitoku?" Accelerator said, but he already had an idea. Teitoku had already realized what was going on before Accelerator brought it up. The rest of them probably still thought it was a coincidence that they were being separated.

"This isn't a coincidence, is it?" It was more of a statement then a question, but Accelerator replied anyways.

"Probably not." Accelerator answered.

"I have the feeling…" Teitoku said, drawing Accelerator's eyes to him. "That the higher ups are planning something."

"Yeah." Accelerator said. "There's no way that they just so happen to transfer you guys out and close the middle school section at the same time. It's too suspicious."

"Well… it's not something to worry about right now, is it?"

"I guess not." Accelerator opened his door. "Good night, Teitoku."

"Yeah." Teitoku said. "Good night, Accelerator."

With that, Accelerator walked into his room. Teitoku opened his door and did the same, both closing their doors behind them.

Accelerator walked over and laid on his bed in the small dorm room. He looked up at the ceiling and said his thoughts out loud.

"What's going on?"


	2. Last day The first lead

**A/N: Thanks for the positive feedback on the first chapter guys! It really made me want to get out there and write more! I already have the 3rd chapter underway as well and I certainly think it's going well, even better than this chapter. I hope you enjoy and if you have any question, please ask by pm or review and if it's really important, I'll put the answer in the next chapter. Thanks! Please enjoy!**

* * *

Accelerator sat at the usual meeting spot. It was a small square area in a park that had a bench on three sides of it with pathways leading in two directions. Teitoku sat next to him. It was 11:00am, 30 minutes before the group had planned to meet. The two had talked earlier and decided that it was a good idea to come earlier and think about how they would go about their investigation.

"We really don't know where to begin, do we?" Accelerator said. "The only lead we have is that we were all separated at the same time. That doesn't give us anything to go off of."

"Yeah." Teitoku sighed. "It'll be hard to start investigating the matter without a solid basis."

The two sat there for a minute, deep in thought.

"Maybe..." Accelerator said, drawing his friend's attention. "We could have Mikoto hack into the system and we could get information… but…" He trailed off.

"What is it?" Teitoku asked.

"It's just…" Accelerator paused and took a breath before continuing. "This could be dangerous if the higher ups are really planning something. I'd rather not get the others involved, if possible. It's our choice whether we want to investigate this or not. I won't have them getting hurt because we thought that they might be useful to our investigation."

"That's true…" Teitoku said. "But, you know... If something is actually going on… then they're already involved more than they're aware."

"…" Accelerator remained silent for a minute, thinking. "All right…" He said finally. "We'll have Mikoto help us, but there's two conditions. One, we don't get her involved again."

"Two, we don't tell her why she's doing it." Teitoku said for him. Accelerator nodded. "I agree. But, if we don't tell her why, there's a strong chance that she won't do it for us."

"It's our only chance." Accelerator said, looking down. He leaned back on the bench and tried to relax.

The two remained silent for the rest of the time until the others showed up.

"Well, you two sure are here early." Mikoto said with surprise as she walked over with the others.

Accelerator and Teitoku looked at each other, then back at the group.

"We just got here." Accelerator said.

"Yeah." Teitoku said.

"Really?" Misaki said, walking up to the two. "Are you sure you two didn't get here early so you could go on a secret date?" She giggled.

"Like hell!" The two boys said at the same time.

"Just kidding." Misaki winked at them and smiled.

The two stood and walked over to the rest of the group.

"Well, now that we're all here…" Accelerator said, smiling. "Why don't we go to an amusement park?"

"Yeah!" They all said together, excluding Teitoku who was still thinking. He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled.

"Let's go." Teitoku said and started walking. The group walked at a nice pace until they reached the gates of the amusement park.

A large sign in front of the park told its name: Mega Fun Land.

Accelerator stared. "This…"

The rest of the group could only look at the sign until Teitoku spoke up.

"Well, it may look like it's for children, but why not give it a chance?" He said with a small laugh, looking to Accelerator for support.

"That's right." Accelerator said positively. "Let's just give it a chance. Who knows? We might actually have a lot of fun."

"Right!" Mikoto said as she started to run towards the entrance. She turned back and waved to them. "Hurry up!"

The group smiled and walked towards her.

They all bought their tickets, Accelerator and Teitoku paying for the girls. The group walked in and stopped a few feet inside, looking around.

The amusement park was like any typical one. There were rides everywhere and many food vendors. Misaki grabbed a map and opened it. The group gathered around her, looking at the map.

After some debate, they decided to ride a rollercoaster first. They found the largest one in the park called "The Twisted Dragon". It certainly lived up to its name. Some of the twists on the ride looked like they defied the laws of physics.

Mikoto shrank behind Teitoku. He tried patting her head to calm her down. She looked really nervous. "It'll be okay." He said with a smile.

Mikoto nodded slowly. "Thanks… and don't worry… I'll be fine." She smiled, but the group could easily tell it was fake.

The group stood in line for a good twenty minutes before boarding the ride. Accelerator, Misaki, and Gunha sat in the first seat. Teitoku and Mikoto sat in the second seat. After everybody was on, the employee started the ride.

At first, the ride crept forward slowly. It was approaching a turn.

"T-this isn't so bad…" Mikoto said with a nervous smile. Her arms were wrapped around Teitoku's arm, making him blush a little as the ride moved forward slowly. "I think I can handle thi-".

Mikoto was cut off by the ride shooting forward at 70mph. The wind was so strong, it was hard to keep their eyes open.

"AHHHHHH!" Mikoto screamed. Teitoku tried to look at her but was afraid of getting hurt if he even moved a little while going this fast.

The ride started to make multiple loops, making Mikoto feel sick to her stomach. Misaki had her hands in the air and so did Gunha and both were screaming in joy. Accelerator sat there with a blank look. He didn't want to yell in joy, but he wasn't scared either, so he just chose to do nothing. Teitoku sat there, almost the same as Accelerator.

The ride started to twist in strange ways and gain speed. Teitoku looked over to Mikoto and she was extremely pale. He wanted to say something to her, but every time he opened his mouth, he couldn't get any words out.

"AHHH!" Mikoto's screams could be heard even if you weren't that close to the ride. Teitoku thought that his hearing would be damaged if the ride didn't end soon. Not only that, she was holding onto his arm so tightly that she was cutting off his blood circulation. If the ride didn't end soon, he thought he would lose his arm.

Just as those thoughts came into Teitoku's mind, the ride started slowing. It continued to slow until it came to a rest at the starting point. The doors on the side opened and the group got up. Mikoto, however, refused to let go of Teitoku's arm, so he had to walk with her clinging onto him.

"So," Teitoku said as they went through the exit of the ride. "How about we don't go on one of those again?"

The group agreed and started walking around the park, looking for something interesting. Mikoto still refused to let go of Teitoku's arm the entire time. The thought that it made them look like a couple made him uncomfortable, but he did his best to bear with the embarrassment.

They reached a merry-go-round. The group looked at Mikoto who nodded that it was okay. The group walked up to the ride which had no line. Accelerator sat on one of the horses blushing with embarrassment. Teitoku got on one as well. Mikoto got on a horse, a separate one from Teitoku surprisingly. Misaki jumped on the one she chose. Gunha was trying to look for a good one, but realized it didn't matter and climbed onto one.

The merry-go-round started to rotate slowly. Mikoto flinched at first but relaxed when she realized it wasn't going to speed up.

The group sat there looking embarrassed except for Mikoto who looked like she was actually having fun.

"Haha!" Misaka laughed as the ride went around in circles slowly. She smiled childishly, gaining her and the other teens riding strange looks from passersby.

After the ride was finally over, which felt like an eternity to all but Mikoto, the group began exploring the amusement park again. They took a break for lunch at a small outdoor food vendor.

Accelerator took a bite of a slice of pizza. "Well…. That was fun I suppose…"

"Yeah." The group agreed.

Teitoku looked around. He glanced randomly around them until he stared at something.

"Something wrong?" Misaki asked him, drawing all attention to the boy.

He looked back at the group. "Accelerator… can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

Accelerator looked confused but nodded and stood. The two walked off and left the group staring after them.

"What's that about?" Gunha asked confused.

"Who knows?" Misaki sighed.

Accelerator and Teitoku walked a fair distance away from the group and sat at another table with an umbrella over it to block the sun.

Accelerator looked at him. "So, what is it?" He asked.

Teitoku put a finger to his lips to show him to be quiet. He leaned forward, as did Accelerator. "We're being followed." He whispered.

Accelerator's eyes widened. "Damn… are you serious? Where the hell are they?" He glanced around.

"Don't make it obvious that you're looking for them or they'll hide." Teitoku whispered back. He held his hand to his chest and pointed briefly.

Accelerator inconspicuously glance in the direction and caught a glimpse of a girl with blue hair and blue eyes buying a crepe. He nodded towards her and raised his eyebrows in a question. Teitoku nodded in response. The girl didn't really look special in any ways. She wore a white bow in her hair.

The girl bought a crepe and sat down at a table and began eating with a cheery smile on her face.

Accelerator sat back in the chair. "Are you serious, Teitoku?" He asked. "That girl's been following us this whole time?"

Teitoku nodded. "I'm serious. I noticed her when we were at the entrance, but didn't think of anything then. But then I noticed that she's always been near us."

"Damn… do you think she's part of whoever separated us?"

"That's what I was thinking." Teitoku sighed. "Anyways, I just felt the need to warn you in case anything happens. This way we can be prepared."

The two nodded to each other and headed back over to their friends, once again taking their seats. The group stared at them, making them feel awkward and somewhat guilty for not telling them what's going on.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Mikoto asked before taking a sip of her drink.

The two boys twitched at that, neither of them want to say anything about it. Teitoku glanced to the side and confirmed that the girl was now eating her crepe on a bench closer to them, where she had them in full view.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Accelerator said in an attempt to draw the group's attention away from their conversation.

"Yeah." Teitoku said nervously. (Damn… that was close…)

Misaki sighed. "Whatever, let's go have some fun now."

The group planned to go on the waterslides next, so the guys and girls split up at the changing rooms. The boys, of course, were changed and waiting outside for the girls before they were done.

The three boys waited, leaning against the wall with their hands in their pockets.

"We're ready!" Misaki's voice called out as the two girls walked out. The three boys looked up and their eyes widened for a second.

Mikoto wore a very cute and attractive green bikini. The size was just right for her and she was blushing and looking down when she walked out. Misaki on the other hand… Misaki wore a white bikini that could give any man a nosebleed. Luckily, the boys were able to keep their hormones in check.

"So, what do you think?" Misaki asked as she showed off her swimsuit. Mikoto looked nervous and she was blushing deeply.

"You two look… good… really good…" Gunha said. The three boys were staring at the girls, they couldn't take their eyes off of them.

"You two are really beautiful in those." Teitoku said.

"You two are amazing." Accelerator said, then blushed and looked away.

"Thanks!" Misaki said with a smile.

"…thanks…" Mikoto said quietly.

"Well then," Gunha said, recovering from the shock of their swimsuits. "Let's go!" He turned and led the way to one of the waterslides. Obviously, he chose the biggest and most dangerous looking one. It had four closed tunnels for guests to slide through. The tunnels seemed to make turns as odd angles and even make loops at a few parts.

The group stared at the ride and all eyes slowly turned to Mikoto. She looked around at them, then jumped a little and smiled.

"D-don't worry about me. I'll just sit over here and wait." She pointed to a bench with an umbrella over it near the entrance of the ride.

Accelerator sighed. "You guys have fun. I'll wait here with Mikoto."

"Aww…" Misaki said. "I was hoping you were going to gently hold me from behind while I went down, maybe even accidentally groping my breasts because you try to hold onto me tighter!" She was smiling and staring up with a dreamy expression.

"…" Accelerator stared at her before turning away and walking towards the bench with Mikoto. "Let's go. Have fun guys." Mikoto nodded and followed him while the others started to go for the ride. When Accelerator and Teitoku passed, he whispered, "I'm doing this to protect her… just in case." He caught Teitoku nod once before running off with the other two.

The two made their way to the bench and sat down. Few words were exchanged because neither of them knew what to say.

"So…" Accelerator said, breaking the silence. "Have you checked out your new school yet?"

"Wha-… uh… yes!" Mikoto seemed cut off guard from the sudden conversation. "I visited it when I first got the invitation to see what it looked like. It's really fancy and expensive… but the students seemed nice enough." She looked down, clasping her hands on her lap.

Accelerator looked at her for a second before smiling. He placed his hand over hers, making her jump and look at him. "Don't be sad." He said. "We'll still be able to talk and hang out after school and on weekends. We're all friends, that won't change."

Mikoto smiled and gave him a brief hug. "Nope, we're all best friends!" She said cheerfully.

After a few minutes, Accelerator bought them both crepes and sat back down at the bench. He held out a strawberry one to Mikoto, who took it and started eating immediately. He smiled at that and began eating his own blueberry crepe.

"Mmm! It's delicious!" Mikoto said as she ate her crepe with a big smile on her face.

Accelerator opened his mouth to say something when a pebble landed in front on him, bouncing off the ground. "….." He stared at it. (Did you idiot throw this at me?) He looked around but saw nobody that looked suspicious. He ignored it and went back to eating his crepe. "…." Another pebble hit the ground in front of him. "…." This time he stood up.

"Hm? Accelerator? What's wrong?" Mikoto asked, looking up from her crepe.

"Shh!" Accelerator said and Mikoto stopped talking. He tried listening. "….." Then he heard it.

"…tor!" He could barely make out a voice from somewhere far away.

Accelerator looked around. (Where the hell is that coming from?)

"…lerator!" He heard it again. This time he looked up. After searching for a few seconds he saw who it was. Even when squinting, he could barely make out the form of Teitoku on top of the platform for the water slide. He only saw him because he was waving his hands in the air.

"What the hell is he doing…?" Accelerator mumbled. This time, when he shouted, he could hear him clearly.

"Accelerator! Over there!" He pointed to the side and when Accelerator looked, he saw the girl slowly making her way towards him, her eyes locked on him.

"Damn…" Accelerator mumbled. Mikoto tried to see what he was looking at and spotted the girl.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Mikoto, listen to me." Accelerator said slowly. "Go wait by the crepe shop. I don't want you to get hurt if this gets bad…"

Mikoto was about to ask what was wrong, but when she saw the look in his eyes, she turned and ran towards the crepe shop.

The girl continued her approach. She stopped a few feet from him and stared at him. Accelerator was completely prepared to activate his power at any given moment.

(This girl… is she really with them? With the people who want to separate us? If so, I won't hesitate to…)

His thoughts were interrupted by the girl's voice. That soft voice that sounded like it was spoken by an angel to him. It sounded nothing like some person who belonged to an evil organization.

"Do you… know where the restrooms are?"

"…." Accelerator couldn't respond immediately. He hadn't expected that from her. He thought she was going to attack him or something. Or at least ask him some weird question that would make him suspicious. "Over there…" He said pointing.

"Thank you." The girl said and walked by him. He watched as she left until he couldn't see her anymore.

Accelerator turned to look at Teitoku, but he wasn't there. He sighed and walked back to the bench, just as Mikoto ran back.

"Come on, tell me. Who was that?" She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Nobody. I just… mistook her for someone else…" He sat down on the bench and Mikoto did the same.

No words were exchanged between the two and after a few minutes, the other three walked up to them.

Teitoku motioned for Accelerator to follow him. Accelerator turned to the group as the two walked away. "Wait here. We'll be right back."

"…..They're hiding something aren't they?" Misaki asked with a frown.

"Yeah, definitely." Gunha said. "I mean, what was Teitoku yelling about in line? He was telling Accelerator to look somewhere."

"Oh," Mikoto said, drawing attention to her. "Some girl talked to Accelerator, but I don't know what they said. Accelerator told me to wait by the crepe shop in case things went bad… then when I asked him about the girl, he just said that he mistook her for someone else."

"Hmm… Suspicious…" Misaki said, thinking.

Accelerator and Teitoku walked over to the crepe shop.

"I don't think she was with them." Accelerator said. "She just asked me where the bathrooms were and I told her."

Teitoku thought for a second. "Weird… I wonder why she was following us then… I suppose it could be coincidence but…" He didn't like to believe it was just coincidence. If it was, then they lost their only lead.

"Well, let's get back to the others." Accelerator said. "I'm sure they're already suspicious and we don't need them getting to the point where they interrogate us."

"Agreed." Teitoku said and the two made their way back to the group.

The group didn't ask them anything and they enjoyed riding a few more slides, excluding Mikoto, who only rode a few small ones. After a while, they stopped for one last small meal before leaving. They bought some rice balls and found an empty table for five, making sure it was shaded.

Accelerator sat down and heard the sound of paper crinkling in his pocket. He stood up.

"What the hell?" He reached in the pocket of his trunks and removed a plastic bag with a piece of paper inside. "….." He unfolded the piece of paper and began to read, unaware of the stares of everybody else in the group.

"Nice to meet you, Accelerator. My name is Sakurai Yumi. Unfortunately, I thought to contact you at the last minute, so I don't have much time to write everything down. You want to know, don't you? You want to know why the higher ups are separating you. You'll do anything to get that information, won't you? Let me say this, stop investigating in the open. All of the level 5's are being watched. It would best not to make a move in the open. I do not believe they are onto you yet. Anyways, I attend Nagatenjouki Academy, just like you. Come to dorm room 307 so we can talk, bring Teitoku with you since he already knows. Do not inform the others."

Accelerator stared at the note. (What the hell? Is the even real? Somebody who knows what the hell's going on… wait… this could be a trap. I should be cautious. But… if this person think they can take on the number 1 and number 2, they have another thing coming. We should go see her just in case…)

"Accelerator?"

Misaki's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up.

"It's… nothing…" He said and shoved the paper in his pocket.

Nobody asked anything else. The group finished their meals, got dressed and left the amusement park. The way back was quiet and the group stopped at the entrance to the dorms. This would be the last time that most of them would be staying here. Tomorrow, they would all move out and go to their new schools. The group started to make their way in.

"Teitoku." Accelerator said, stopping him along with the rest of the group. They all turned to face him.

"What is it?" Teitoku asked, but he already had a feeling that it was about that piece of paper.

"We have to make another stop before we go to our rooms, so follow me." Accelerator walked inside with Teitoku following him. "Good night, guys." He said to rest of the group.

"Good night." Teitoku called back to the three.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Misaki spoke up.

"Should we follow them?"

"Yeah." Mikoto said.

"Of course." Gunha said with a smile.

The three silently followed the two through various hallways until they spotted them outside a door. They watched from around a corner. Accelerator handed Teitoku a note and he read over then handed it back to him with a nod. It was hard to hear what they were saying, but they managed to make it out.

"So that's what's going on." Teitoku said as he looked at the door with the number 307 on it.

"Yeah." Accelerator said. He walked up to the door and raised his hand to knock.

"Are you sure we can trust this person?" Teitoku asked.

"No, but we don't have any other lead. So, we really don't have a choice, do we?"

"I guess so."

Accelerator raised his hand to the door and knocked a few times. The two stood outside the door and after a few seconds, they heard footsteps approaching the door. They both prepare themselves as they heard the door being unlocked. The door opened slowly and to say the least, the sight caught them off guard.

A girl with dark blue hair and blue eyes stood there with a tired look on her face. She wore white silk pajamas. The top had most of the buttons undone, almost fully revealing her small breasts. Her pants drooped a little on one side and the two boys could see part of her pink panties. The girl was barefoot. Judging from how she looked, they guessed she had been sleeping.

Accelerator and Teitoku didn't know what to say, so they didn't say anything. They just stared at the girl. The girl looked at each of them in turn, tilting her head and preparing to say something.

The two boys snapped out of their somewhat dream-like state and tried to pay close attention to what she was going to say.

"Nyaa."

* * *

**A/N: Man, I had a fun time writing this chapter. I really wanted to include more things in the amusement park, but I really wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible. Some of you may think this is rushed, but just wait till you see the way things turn out! There's a lot more to come!**


	3. SHIFT

**A/N: This chapter turned out slightly differently then I planned, but please enjoy it all the same! I've been getting good support from you guys and it really makes me want to keep writing!**

Accelerator and Teitoku stared at the girl. A girl with blue hair and blue eyes. She wore white silk pajamas that were rather revealing and her disheveled state told them that she had been sleeping.

"Nyaa." This was the first thing she said to them leaving them in a completely confused state. Accelerator snapped out of it.

"Sakurai… Yumi?" He asked. This girl did indeed look like the one who asked him for directions at the amusement park. It seemed that Teitoku had been right and that she was somehow involved with the separation of the level 5's.

Yumi rubbed her eyes and looked at them again. "…... Accelerator?... Dark Matter?" She titled her head in a confused manner. "Why are you two here?"

"….." Neither of them said anything at first. Teitoku broke the silence.

"You told us to come here, remember? In the note that you gave Accelerator."

"Oh right. I just didn't expect you to come here so late." She yawned, making a cute sound. "Ahhh…"

Unknown to them, the other three level 5's were just around the corner, listening to the entire conversation. Misaki narrowed her eyes.

"So that's what that note was about." She mumbled. "Wait… why was she sleeping? The suns not even down yet… it's only around 15:30…" Her confusion only grew along with the other two next to her.

"Anyways…" Yumi said, taking a step back. "Why don't you come in? We should talk about this in private." She walked into her dorm room and the boys followed. Teitoku closed the door behind them and locked it just in case.

"…. What should we do now?" Gunha asked, looking at Misaki.

"Well… I could always use my ability to control the girl but…" She trailed off.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Mikoto spoke up. "I'm sure they'll tell us when they're ready. Let's just go back to our rooms for now."

The other two agreed and the three made their way back to their rooms.

"Please, take a seat at the table." Yumi said. "I'll get you something to drink." She walked off into the small kitchen while the two boys sat down on either side of a small table set in the middle of the room.

After a few moments, Yumi came back and placed three glasses on the table. Accelerator and Teitoku looked at the glasses skeptically.

"It's just apple juice." Yumi said as she took her own glass and took a sip from it.

The boys still looked at theirs. They were level 5's. There's a lot of people who want them dead for various reasons, so they were skeptical about poisoned drinks.

"Geez." Yumi said. She reached across the table and took Accelerator's drink. She took a sip from it and placed it back down. Then, she reached over, took Teitoku's drink, and did the same. Then she returned to sitting normally. "Happy?" She asked tiredly.

Accelerator brought the glass to his lips and hesitated for a moment. Then he sighed and took a sip from the glass. Teitoku did the same and both placed their glasses down after gulping down half the glass.

"So," Accelerator said, eager to get started. "What do you know?" He looked at her and she looked back. With a sigh she started.

"My name is Sakurai Yumi as you should already know. I really don't know where to start… so how about this instead? You ask me any question and if I know the answer, I'll tell you." She looked between the two level 5's. "Is that okay with you two?" They both nodded. "Well, then go on."

Accelerator spoke first. "Us being separated... it's not a coincidence, is it?"

"No, it is not a coincidence that the level 5's are being separated."

Teitoku spoke up next. "Who's behind it all? Who's doing this?"

"….." Yumi was silent for a moment. Then she spoke up. "SHIFT." She answered softly.

"SHIFT?" Teitoku asked confused. "What the hell is that?"

"SHIFT is an underground organization in Academy City. They keep to themselves and trust no one. They are a fairly new organization, but they have many influential members… even members who can influence the Academy City Board of Directors…" She stooped at took a sip of the juice in front of her. She carefully placed the glass down and remained silent, waiting for the next question.

"What do they hope to accomplish by separating us?" Accelerator asked.

"I don't know." Yumi answered. "I do not know the specifics of their plans. I can, however, speculate a few reasons for you." She paused and when Accelerator nodded, she continued. "They could be trying to break up the friendship between you all. The reason for this, I don't know. Like I said, it's just speculation. It is possible that they want to use one of you for something and are afraid of the others interfering. There're also many more possibilities." She stopped and drank some juice again. After placing the glass down, she remained silent.

Accelerator and Teitoku exchanged looks of confusion and worry. They both looked back at the girl.

"Is there any way for us to find SHIFT?" Accelerator asked.

"You can search all you want on your own, but you will never find them. Out of all of the underground organizations in Academy City, they are one of the most secretive."

"How are you involved with them?" Teitoku asked.

"I don't see how that pertains to the current conversation, but I guess I can tell you. I was affiliated with them before. I really just gave them supplies that they needed and they paid me. It was kind of like being a member, except they had no power over me. I am no longer affiliated with them in any way."

"What does SHIFT consist of? I mean, in terms of members." Teitoku said.

"I am sure that they have quite powerful espers. I am also sure that they have many intelligent scientists. Also…" She looked between them again. "I said earlier that they have influence and I'm saying now that they have power. I would not underestimate that power if I were you. If they can directly influence the lives of the level 5's and not be afraid of repercussions, then they may have more influence and power than we know. They are not to be taken lightly."

"So, I assume you know nothing about any of their future plans or what they might be up to now?" Teitoku asked.

"Unfortunately not. I have no way of knowing what they are going to do anymore. I have tried to hack their database after our business but failed. I was lucky that I was able to erase my tracks. But… you have someone who may be able to help you with that." Seeing the uneasiness in their expressions, she continued. "I guess you don't want to get the others involved, huh? Well… they are already involved, whether they like it or not. I will not tell you what to do, that is your choice. However, I think that, even if you do choose to hide it from them, they will find out eventually."

The two level 5's looked down, both thinking about it. Neither one of them wanted their friends to get hurt which was the reason they decided to not tell them about the whole thing in the first place. They both looked up at the sound of Yumi's voice.

"Academy City is a dangerous place, as I am sure you two know. There is more to this city than we could ever hope to know. However… it is not impossible to gather more information. I am confident that if we work together, we can defeat SHIFT."

"….. Why are you helping us?" Accelerator asked. He was curious why this girl would risk her life for them. They had just met this girl and yet she seemed willing to fall into the depths of hell to help them.

"….." Yumi remained silent for a minute. "I don't agree with people who use knowledge and power to hurt others… I can't stand it. You level 5's may hold the greatest powers in the world and yet… you don't use them to harm others." She smiled. "That is why I respect you and will do anything in my power to help."

Accelerator sighed. "I'd rather you didn't risk your life to help us, but that's your choice. Anyways, do you have any way to help us find them? Do you know any way we can contact them? Or any way to get a lead on where they're hiding out?"

"Unfortunately I can't…" Yumi said, looking down. The two boys looked down as well, both at a loss as for what to do now. "But…" Yumi said, making the two look up at her. "I may know someone who can. She is a student at Nagatenjouki."

* * *

Accelerator sighed as he lay in his bed. His mind was a mess of jumbled thoughts from his conversation with Yumi. He glanced at his clock. It was 1:00am. He stared at the ceiling. How could he go to sleep with everything that had just happened?

(No… this is a good thing… We finally have a lead. Yumi even told us about a person we could go see to get more information. This might be our only chance.)

He rolled over in bed. "SHIFT, huh?" He mumbled.

(Just what the hell is going on…? This makes no sense. I can't find any benefit for them wanting to separate us… Wait… something she said… about not wanting us to interfere when they're really only after one of us… does SHIFT fear our power? If we're together… there's nobody in the world that can stand up to us. We have the power the break Heaven and make it fall to earth and yet… will we be able to save our friends…?)

Teitoku also lay in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He turned over to lay on his back.

(I just don't get it… what is SHIFT trying to accomplish by separating us? It makes no sense. I doubt they're just trying to piss us of… they must get something out of this or there would be no point in doing it…)

"Damn…" Teitoku mumbled. "What is it? What's their motive? What's their goal? I don't get it…" He closed his eyes but did not get any sleep that night.

* * *

The tone sounded, signaling that class was over. The teacher left the room and Accelerator waiting for the normal routine. After a minute he sighed.

(That's right… Mikoto won't be talking to me after class anymore.)

He waited until the majority of people left and walked out into the hall, his footsteps echoing off the walls. He looked around as he walked and sighed again.

(I won't be hanging out with Teitoku after class anymore…)

He walked past the stairway that he would normally use after school to get down to the first floor. Instead, he walked around a corner and made his way to the chemistry lab. He stood outside the door and waited. There was really no reason for him to hesitate, so he didn't know why he didn't just walk in and ask what needed to be asked. The last part of his conversation with Yumi came to mind.

"_Really? You know somebody who can help us?" Teitoku asked, looking at the girl curiously._

"_Who is it?" Accelerator asked._

"_Calm down." Yumi said. "I'm not saying that this person will help you even if you go to them. All I'm saying is that she can help you if she chooses to do so. She will be well aware of the fact that she is risking her life for you. However, she is like me in one regard. I do not believe she approves of those who use their powers to hurt others."_

"_Tell me." Accelerator said. Yumi looked at him. "What is her name?"_

_Accelerator and Teitoku both looked at Yumi, waiting for an answer. After a pause, she spoke._

"_Nunotaba Shinobu. For her age, she is very smart. You shouldn't be surprised that she would know about organizations like SHIFT." Yumi stood up and looked between the two. "That's all I can do for you for now. Come back to me when you need help again."_

Accelerator opened the door to the Chemistry Lab. He took a few steps in and was met with a group of eight people gathered around a table. The table was filled with vials of strange liquids and other materials. The group looked up as he entered without knocking.

A boy with brown hair and blue eyes approached Accelerator. He wore a lab coat and had goggles pulled up on his head. He stopped in front of Accelerator.

"May I help you?" His voice was calm, but Accelerator could detect the suspicion.

Feeling that he was wasting time, Accelerator walked past the boy, who he assumed to be president of the club, and made his way over to the table. He looked over the people standing around it. His eyes stopped on a girl.

"You." He said to the girl.

She looked at him with an uninterested look. "Yes?" Her voice was calm. Her dark hair fell to just below her shoulders and her equally dark eyes were half closed. Accelerator couldn't tell if her hair was purple or blue. The lighting made it hard to tell. She wore a long white lab coat and the uniform of Nagatenjouki underneath.

"Are you… Nunotaba Shinobu?" He watched her every move, but she didn't react to him knowing her name in the least.

"Yes. May I help you?"

"I need to talk to you for a moment… in private."

"Can it wait a moment?"

Accelerator really didn't feel like waiting for her to finish whatever she was doing, but he did want her help.

"Fine. I'll be waiting outside the room." With that, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked to the side of the door and leaned on the wall with a sigh.

"…" After 10 minutes of waiting, she still wasn't out. He was prepared to go back in there when the door opened and Shinobu walked out.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She said calmly. "What did you want to speak about?"

"…. Do you… know who I am?" He asked.

"Accelerator. The number 1 level 5 esper in Academy City. I'm familiar with the names, faces, and abilities of the level 5's."

"….. Let's talk somewhere else…."

"…Agreed."

The two left the school and made their way to a small park. Shinobu sat down on a swing and Accelerator sat down on the swing next to her.

"I want to get straight to the point here." Accelerator said after a few moments of silence.

"You want to know about SHIFT, right?"

The sudden words surprised Accelerator. He didn't know how to respond at first.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"There is no other reason you would know my name. I can guess how you found out about me to... but I did see this coming from the second Yumi told me that she would be helping you guys out…" She sighed. "Well, whatever. What do you want to know? Depending on what it is and if I know it, I'll decide whether or not to tell you."

(This girl's really lucky I need her help and that I hate injuring innocent people. She's really pissing me off right now. My friends might be in danger and yet she's approaching this so calmly. I don't like it…)

"What is SHIFT's goal? What do they hope to accomplish by doing this?"

"I don't know that. They are very secretive. I consider myself lucky enough to have the information I do."

"…." Accelerator paused, thinking over what to say. His cellphone ringing interrupted his thoughts. He considered ignoring it, but decided to see who it was. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller id. It was Teitoku. He answered the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

He could hear loud noises coming from the other side. He heard a grunt and what sounded like an explosion.

(Wait… were those gunshots...?)

"Teitoku, what the hell a-?" He was cut off by the sound of something being launched through the air followed by an explosion and more gunshots.

"Shit! Accelerator!" Teitoku's voice yelled from the other side.

"What the hell's going on? Where are you?"

The line started cutting off as more explosions sounded.

"Don't underestimate a level 5!" Accelerator could clearly hear that and could also hear the explosions that followed. Shortly after, the line went silent.

"Shit!" Accelerator turned to Shinobu, who didn't look surprised at all.

"It looks like they've made their move." She said calmly.

"Do you know how to trace a cellphone from a call?

"…" She looked at him then to the cellphone. "Give me that." She said as she took the phone from him and led him towards the computer lab.

* * *

Teitoku backed up. He was breathing heavily and a small trail of blood fell down the sleeve of his left arm. Blood slowly fell to the ground, creating a small puddle. He looked up at a figure standing in the smoke.

Bullets came flying out of the smoke at him.

Teitoku raised his hand and a strange white material formed in the air, creating a wall between him and the bullets. The bullets bounced off the material and fell to the ground. The material disappeared as Teitoku straightened himself. This material – Dark Matter – was his esper ability. It allowed him to create a type of matter out of thin air and use it to attack. It also had many other functions.

"Damn." Teitoku said as he threw a ball of Dark Matter next to the figure, blowing a hole in the ground. The figure seemed unfazed and continued to advance. "What the hell's going on? Why is this happening?"

The figure walked out of the smoke, short brown hair waving in the wind. A pair of goggles was pulled up on her head. She wore a Nagtenjouki uniform. A military-grade SMG rested in her arms, the barrel pointed down. Her brown eyes stared at the boy.

"You cannot continue for long. At this rate, you will tire out. Says Misaka as she states her observation."

**A/N: That was probably expected by some of you. So, sorry if I didn't surprise you! I had actually planned for something entirely different to happen, but decided that it can wait. Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know I enjoyed writing it. And certainly, there is a lot more to come! Just you wait and see what I have planned!**


	4. Project Dual

**A/N: Sorry that this took so long to get out. I had already planned the entire chapter out, but I had some stuff going on. Hopefully, I'll be able to get chapter 5 out quicker. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! Until next time! Sayonara!**

Accelerator and Shinobu ran down the streets of Academy City. They passed by several back alleys until they stopped at the entrance to one. Shinobu looked down at a laptop she was holding.

"This way." She said and ran into the alley. Accelerator followed closely behind.

"Dammit, how much further?" He asked as they turned a corner and continued running.

"Just a few more minutes. Sorry, but please be patient."

"That's easy for you to say…"

Teitoku frowned at the girl. This girl who looked identical to Misaka Mikoto, one of his best friends. This girl stared at him with no emotion. She pointed her gun up at him and shot again. Teitoku formed another wall of Dark Matter. The bullets, once again, hit the Dark Matter and fell to the ground.

"You know…" Teitoku said as the wall of Dark Matter disappeared, leaving him standing there. "I was hesitant to hurt you at first because you look like my friend… but you're really starting to piss me off!"

He threw a fist-sized ball of Dark Matter at an incredible speed at her gun. Upon impact, the gun exploded, making the girl jump back. Bluish-white electricity sparked on her bangs. She put her hand up to it and brought it away, the electricity staying on it. She held her arm out towards Teitoku and launched the electricity in a way so that it looked like a beam headed for him.

Without even moving, Teitoku formed a tall but thin piece of Dark Matter. The Dark Matter launched itself forward and met with the beam. The beam of electricity split in several directions and disappeared, leaving behind trails of smoke. The piece of Dark Matter continued flying through the air toward the girl. She dodged at the last second, but it still cut her shoulder.

The girl stood straight, clutching her left shoulder. Blood was slowly starting to pour from the wound. She looked at Teitoku just in time to see one hundred of the fist-sized balls of Dark Matter flying right at her. Teitoku watched as the balls crashed down around her.

"I don't know who you are or why you look like Mikoto…" He clenched his fist. "But if you continue this fight… I'm going to kill you." He had purposely missed with most of the balls of Dark Matter at the last second. He wanted an explanation and he intended to get one by any means necessary.

The girl stood up, trembling. Blood was soaking through her shirt around her stomach. She held a wound on her left side that had blood pooling on the ground beneath her.

"Misaka… did not expect… this outcome… Says Misaka… as she expresses her surprise… at your sudden actions…" The girl fell to the ground, unconscious. The goggles, unharmed, fell off her head and lay on the ground next to her.

Teitoku walked up to the unconscious form and picked her up in a bridal carry. He made sure to grab the goggles to and started to head out of the alleyway he was in. He had gotten into this after some Skill-Out members thought they could mess with him and he ended up chasing them down some alleys, only to find this girl waiting for him around a corner.

"Teitoku!" A voice called out behind him. He turned around to see Accelerator and Shinobu run out of another alley into the one he was in.

"Hey… I'm fine now… but we've got another issue here." He looked down at the girl in his arms. Accelerator ran up to him.

"What the hell happened to Mikoto? Who the fuck did this!?" He was getting both angry and worried.

"Calm down, Accelerator." Teitoku said, making the boy look at him. "She may look like Mikoto, but she's not her."

"What are you-?" Accelerator started before he got cut off.

"Mikoto is shopping with Misaki. This girl… she randomly attacked me. To be honest, I also thought she was Mikoto at first. I mean, look at her. They're identical. However, this girl narrates herself. Also… the way she looked at me… I've never seen Mikoto look at anybody that way. She had no emotion. All she wanted to do was kill me. Not to mention, she had a gun. She didn't display level 5 capabilities like Mikoto, either." He looked at the girl's sleeping face. "Either way, I had to defend myself. Let's get her somewhere safe and bandage her up. I made sure not to hurt her too bad so we could get answers." With that, he started to make his way down the alley.

Accelerator, unsure of how to respond, simply followed him. Shinobu also followed closely.

As they made their way through the alley, Teitoku glanced at Shinobu.

"So, is that the girl that Yumi talked about?" He asked.

"Yeah." Accelerator answered. "She seems somewhat willing to help us."

Teitoku didn't respond. He just kept his eyes forward until they made it out of the alley. After some debate, they decided to bring her to Accelerator's place because it was the closest. Teitoku's quick thinking had allowed him to not severely injure the girl. She had more than likely just passed out from the pain or something.

They arrived at the dorm and Teitoku laid the girl on Accelerator's bed. He found a first aid kit and began to treat the more serious wounds. The worst was the cut on her side. He hadn't intended to hit her that hard, but it looked like a piece of Dark Matter had cut her pretty deep. After treating the wounds, he wrapped them up and washed his hands to get the blood off.

The three sat, staring at the girl on the bed.

"What the hell's going on?" Teitoku asked no one in particular.

"This…" Accelerator started. He was cut off by the girl stirring. They all leaned forward to watch as she slowly opened her eyes. She slowly sat up, the pain of doing so obvious. She looked around the room, trying to get a bearing of where she was.

"What… happened? Asks Misaka expressing her confusion about her current situation."

"Who… are you? Or a better question… What are you?" Accelerator asked the confused girl.

The girl looked at him. She looked like she was having an internal debate whether or not to tell him anything.

"I am Misaka 1. Says Misaka as she starts her explanation."

"That doesn't help one bit." Teitoku said.

"…" The girl sat there for a moment, silent. "I am a clone of Misaka Mikoto onee-sama." She said, continuing. "Originally, there was a plan to make many more Misaka's. However, due to a glitch in the system, the data of Misaka Mikoto was wiped from the database. Says Misaka as she finished her explanation."

"What the hell are you talking about? Clone? Data?" Accelerator stared at the girl who looked like one of his closest friends. "Explain properly."

"I do not know all the details. Says Misaka with an apologetic tone. However, I do know that there was supposed to be a project involving Misaka. I was an experimental clone to see if the cloning process would actually work. Says Misaka as she tells you about her origins."

"Why the hell would there be a project that involved cloning Mikoto?"

"Like I said before, I do not know. The details were not given to me as I believe they intended for me to lose to Dark Matter. Says Misaka as she speculates a possible reason for her lack of knowledge."

"Hey, I have a name." Teitoku said, drawing her attention. "I hate it when people refer to me as the name of my ability. I only let it slide with Yumi because we needed her help. Call me Teitoku."

"I'm sorry. Says Misaka as she apologizes to you."

"Hey, Misaka." Accelerator said suddenly. The girl turned to face him. "Where were you made?"

"Do you have a map? Says Misaka as she requests visual aid for showing you the location of the laboratory."

Accelerator took out his phone and brought up a map of the city on it. He handed it to the girl who then promptly started to scroll though the city until she stopped.

"Here. Says Misaka as she points out the location to you." She held up the phone for him to see. It was zoomed in on a laboratory in the 5th school district.

"Here… huh?" Accelerator turned and looked at Teitoku, who nodded in response. Teitoku turned to Shinobu.

"Can I call you Shinobu?" Shinobu nodded. "Shinobu, can you look after Misaka for a while? We're going to go and see just what the hell's going on."

"Very well." Shinobu said with a calm voice. "I'm only doing this because it does not put my life in danger, though. Do not misunderstand. This does not mean that I am swearing to help you will all the things revolving around this endeavor of yours."

"….." Neither Accelerator nor Teitoku said anything. There was no need to. They simply nodded and ran out the door, closing it behind them.

The two ran down the streets of Academy City as fast as they could. They made their way past stores and restaurants and pushed anybody who was in their path out of their way. They ran down one street and a few security robots blocked the way to warn of construction. Accelerator activated his power, his hair and eyes turning white and red respectively, and kicked one, sending it flying over buildings. His hair and eyes returned to normal as the two made their way through the construction-filled street.

Accelerator glanced at his phone and stopped. He turned down a side road and Teitoku followed closely. They stopped in front a large lab that looked like it had been abandoned for a few years. They stood in a large garage-like area that had many military vehicles parked in various places. A large semi-circular opening led to an indoor section of the garage. There were a few lights in there, but the two had to squint to see inside from where they were. The two slowly advanced towards the indoor section of the garage. Just before they entered, a large metal panel slid down, closing off the garage.

Teitoku glanced around and spotted a security camera on the roof of the building aimed down at them.

"Damn. They were prepared for us coming." He said, looking to the door with discontent.

"If they think this is going to stop us..." Accelerator's hair turned white and his eyes red. "Then that will be the last mistake they ever make." He tapped on the panel and a hole three times his size broke open, sending metal pieces flying everywhere. "Oh, the welcoming committee?" The two walked in to face thirty green armored suits.

"This is just sad. They really think these things can defeat us?" Teitoku asked with a smile. He activated his ability, his skin slightly paling as a sign that it was active. "Tch, don't mock me." A ball of Dark Matter the size of his head formed in front of him. With a wave of his hand, the ball flew forward at an incredible speed and crashed through three of the suits and through the wall, making the building shake.

"They underestimate level 5's too much." Accelerator said calmly. He reached his hand out and tore a metal bar off of a military truck. Normally, hitting a suit with that would do nothing, but when the force vectors are accelerated greatly, it does damage. And that's exactly what was in his mind when he threw the bar. It flew at a good 50km/hr to smash into and through a suit of armor. The rest of the truck followed, taking out several of the suits.

Teitoku made another ball of Dark Matter. This time it was the size of his body. The ball flew up, just inches from the ceiling, before falling again and crushing one of the suits. Before the rest had time to react, it swung in a wide arc, stretching, and cleanly cut five of the suits in half.

The rest of the armored suits turned to shoot with grenade launchers, but Accelerator didn't give them the chance. With a tap of his foot, the ground tore up in a path leading to the suits and sent them crashing into the wall. One of the suits was still functional and began to stand again before Accelerator slammed into it with his foot, making a large hole on the front of it. The suit fell to the ground and didn't move again.

"Is this really the best they have?" Teitoku smiled. "That's sad." He turned to Accelerator. "Let's go." He started to walk towards the doorway leading into the building with Accelerator following closely behind him.

The inside looked like any other laboratory. Bright hallways with lots of doors. They made sure to check what was behind each door as they passed by, but found nothing of significance. They continued to go deeper into the building. They found no scientists. It was likely every single one had evacuated the second they saw that the two most powerful level 5's were there.

Teitoku slammed open another door. A few computers sat against the far wall and a large window to his right spanned the entire wall and allowed one to see into another room. The two walked in and began searching through the computer, but a password was needed. Teitoku began to crack it, while Accelerator searched for anything else that they could use as a clue. He approached the glass and peered into a somewhat dark room on the other side. He couldn't see much.

Accelerator searched the wall until he found a separate light switch then the one that controlled the lights of the room they were currently in. He flipped on the switch and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the room light up. He walked back over to the window… and his eyes grew larger. He took a step back, not fully understanding what he was seeing.

"What the fuck… is this?" He mumbled as he stared into the room. The room had white walls and a white floor and ceiling. The floor was littered with corpses. Most of them were so beaten that he couldn't even make out the faces. Teitoku looked up from the computer and walked over.

"What the fuck?" He said as he took a step back upon witnessing what was in the room. He stared down into the room, looking over the corpses. "Just… what the hell were they doing here?"

"…" Accelerator just stood there, unsure of what to say.

(What the fuck? What the fuck is this…? Just what the hell were they doing here? Who the hell are these dead people? Who the fuck killed them and why?)

Many thoughts raced through his mind and it was hard for him to concentrate on just one. He looked over to the computer.

"Teitoku." He said calmly. The other level 5 looked at him.

"Yeah?" He asked, equally as calm.

"Get into that computer. I want to know what the fuck's going on and I want to know now."

"Right." Teitoku made his way back over to the computer and began typing, his eyes never leaving the screen. A few minutes passed and the only sound was his fingers tapping on the keyboard. Accelerator stared into the bloody room the entire time, trying to organize his thoughts. "I got it." Teitoku said, drawing his attention. He walked over behind him and looked at the monitor.

The screen displayed several graphs and statistics charts. A second window was opened that displayed several files. Teitoku opened one of the files labeled "Lab Report 1". He read it aloud.

"Lab report 1 – 2/20/XX – The foundation for Project Dual has been laid out. We will now decide who to use for this project. The current people we are considering are: Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku. We believe, because of their great power, that they hold the capacity to be Dual-Skill. However, we have speculated that they will not willingly take part in this experiment."

Teitoku skipped the rest of that report and the next few reports that mainly detailed the necessary chemicals and machinery.

"Lab report 5 – 8/10/XX – We have given up hope on convincing Accelerator or Dark Matter to participate in the experiment. As such, we have decided to us-"

Teitoku was cut off when the door blasted off its hinges, flying towards the two. Accelerator activated his power and reflected the metal door back at the doorway. It was promptly disintegrated when it made contact with something that looked like a circle of green energy. The circle disappeared and what looked like a beam of the green energy came through the doorway. Accelerator reflected it and the beam shot through the ceiling, easily going through the thick metal.

The two stared at the doorway as a girl with long brown hair and a purple dress walked in. The girl laughed when she saw the two.

"What a coincidence! I never imagined that the intruders would be you two!" The girl smiled at the two Level 5's. Teitoku glared at the girl as she slowly walked in.

"Academy City's 4th ranked level 5, Mugino Shizuri, the Meltdowner." He said, recognizing the girl and her ability immediately.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Accelerator asked. He was prepared to strike down the girl in one blow by reversing her flow of blood and bioelectricity. The only thing that stopped him was the reason why she was here and if she had any involvement with SHIFT.

"I think a better question would be how the hell did you two find out about this place?"

"So… you know what they've been doing then?" Teitoku asked.

"Of course. I've been hired to guard this place in case any of the other level 5's caught on and came here to stop them."

"Just what the hell is going on then?" Accelerator asked. He stepped in front of Teitoku to guard him from any of the stray meltdowners that might go his way.

Teitoku turned back to the computer and looked at the report he was reading. He began to read it aloud again, drawing the attention of the other two level 5's in the room.

"As such we have decided to use…" He trailed off, staring at the screen. He turned around to glare at Shizuri. Tell me then… did you know the person that they got to participate in this project?"

"No, but I'm getting paid, so why the hell should I care?" Shizrui asked.

"As such we have decided to use Academy City's 6th ranked level 5 esper, Particle Disruptor."


	5. Particle Disruptor

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I've been busy lately. Well, it's out now, so I guess that's what counts! I hope you guys enjoy!**

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"What… did you say?" Accelerator asked slowly.

"Number 6?" Shizuri asked as she stared at the number two.

Teitoku couldn't believe it himself as he read the words on the screen over again to make sure he didn't misread it. Though, it seemed impossible to misread something like that.

"Yeah… the number 6… the Particle Disruptor." Teitoku said, looking at the two.

"Why the hell would they get her to do something like this?" Accelerator asked as he thought about it.

"Isn't it obvious?" Teitoku said, looking down. The other two level 5's looked at him. "Their first choice was probably you. But, they realized that you would never take part in such an insane project. Now, think about it. If you wouldn't, then why would I? That rules me out. That also rules out Mikoto, Misaki, and Gunha. They're our friends. I'm sure the scientists realized that they wouldn't participate in this project."

"Then what about her?" Accelerator said, motioning to Shizuri.

"They probably figured that she could turn on them the moment she got annoyed. She has a hostile personality. Number 6, however…"

"I never thought she would do something like this…" Accelerator said, thinking.

Accelerator and Teitoku had only come face to face with number 6 once. One year ago, they had gotten into a fight with a group of level 4 espers. Their strength wasn't particularly a problem to the two highest ranked level 5's. However, it was their numbers that got them.

"Hey, what's this?" Accelerator asked, stopping.

"What the hell do these guys think they're doing?" Teitoku asked.

The sun was setting and their curfew was near, so the two boys had been walking back to their dorm when a few boys stepped out of an alleyway in front of them. It had only been a few at first, but more kept coming. Now there were no less than fifty of them. They surrounded the two in a large circle.

"Do you guys know who your messing with?" Accelerator asked.

"Of course we do." One of the boys, no older than the two level 5's, said as he stepped forward. "But we out number you, so it doesn't matter how much power you have. You'll run out before you can defeat all of us."

"That's a pretty arrogant attitude you have there." Teitoku said. "Maybe we should beat it out of you."

"Why don't you try then!?" The man yelled. "You can't b-" He was cut off when a fist-sized ball of Dark Matter connected with his stomach at about 50mph, sending him flying into the side of a building. An audible cracking sound came from the man's back as he made contact with the wall. "Gah!" Blood flew from his mouth and he slumped down, unmoving.

Another of the men rushed at Accelerator, only to be reflected away with a broken arm. He screamed, got up, and ran away in fear. One man took out a knife and threw it with surprising accuracy for Accelerator's head. Right before it hit him, it flew back and cut a deep gash in the man's shoulder.

"Damn!" The man grabbed his shoulder, trying to stop the flow of blood. In an instant, Accelerator appeared in front of him and flicked his chest, sending him flying away into the wall of a building.

Teitoku turned and, with a piece of Dark Matter the length of his arm, hit a man in his side, easily breaking several ribs and sending him flying to land on the ground thirty feet away.

20 minutes later

Accelerator and Teitoku stood back to back. Teitoku's ability was nearly spent and they were both breathing heavily.

"Damn… what the hell's with these guys?" Teitoku mumbled.

The pair had taken down over one hundred of the men and still more came. Accelerator had taken out a lot, but as he tired, his calculations got slower. Teitoku, on the other hand, only had another few minutes before he had to take time to let his ability recharge.

"Fuck…" Accelerator tapped the ground with his foot and set a wave of concrete at the men, incapacitating about twenty of them. However, no matter how many he sent down, there were more to replace them. "Damn… I can't go on much longer…"

One man walked forward with a gun. He aimed it at Accelerator's head.

_Damn… my calculations better be going through. If reflection doesn't work, then it's the end. Geez… dying from a bunch of these losers? I never imagined I'd go out in such a sad way. It's pitiful, really. Well… he might as well just end it._

Accelerator watched as the man moved his finger to pull the trigger. That is, before the gun exploded.

"Ah!" The man screamed in agony, clutching his hand which was now missing a few fingers. "What the hell!?"

"Geez, what the hell's this? I heard that a lot of level 4's were getting together for something, but I didn't think it would something stupid like this."

The two level 5's, as well as the rest of the level 4's that were there, turned as the sound of a female's voice.

A girl with long brown hair and brown eyes walked toward the group calmly. She had a kind smile on, despite the words that she had just said to them. She wore a long sleeve white shirt with blue stripes and jeans. Her shoes were ordinary, matching her outfit well.

"Really… is this all you level 4's think about? Defeating level 5's? Even if you do that, it probably won't raise your level. You're defeating them because of your numbers, not your strength." She stopped walking ten feet away from the group. "Now… I can see that these two were trying not to kill you. However, if you don't run away now… I can't guarantee your lives." The girl's kind smile made it sound like what she had just said was perfectly normal.

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" One of the guys yelled as he ran at her with a knife.

The girl glanced at the man and the knife in his hand seemed to become misshapen for a second before exploding, sending small pieces of metal flying. The girl laughed when the man fell over screaming. He got up and ran away, holding his hand. As he ran, he left behind a trail of blood.

"Did you know?" She said to rest of the level 4's. "If you mix the particles in something just right, you can cause a release of energy, usually in the form of an explosion. I wonder what would happen if I did that to one of you. I'm sure it would be interesting." As if to emphasize her point, the wall of the building to her left exploded. "Now it's up to you. You can either run away and live or stay here and die. Which will it be?" She asked with her kind smile.

The group of men looked from her to the two level 5's, then took off running. The two looked at the girl. They straightened up and aught their breath, deactivating their abilities.

"Thank you." Accelerator said with a smile.

"Yeah, thank you." Teitoku said.

"It was nothing really." The girl said as she deactivated her powers. She walked up to the two.

"I'm Accelerator." Accelerator introduced himself with a smile.

"I'm Kakine Teitoku." Teitoku said, smiling at the girl.

"Nice to meet you." The girl said in a kind voice. "I'm Yanagisako Aomi."

"That's an interesting ability you have. What's it called?"

"Particle Disruption." Aomi answered kindly. "It's what makes me the 6th ranked level 5. And I recognize you, Accelerator and Dark Matter."

The two boys stared at her for a few moments. They didn't know how to respond to that. Almost nobody knew who the number 6 level 5 was. It was weird for her to just introduce herself to them as the number 6 level 5.

"You're… number 6?" Teitoku asked. He had been face-to-face with all of the other level 5's at least once, four of them because they were his friends, but had never seen number 6 and had never heard anything about her. The same went with Accelerator.

"Yes. Nice to meet you, number 1 and number 2." That smile made her seem innocent. They were sure from what they had just witnessed from her though, they could tell that she had killed before. That façade of hers wouldn't work on them. "I'd rather us not refer to each other by our rankings though. You can call me Aomi."

"Right, then you can call me Teitoku." Teitoku smiled at the girl. He was sure that she could see straight through his fake smile. Despite him not being able to show her a real smile, he was grateful that she had come.

After that, they parted ways. Without exchanging any contact information or anything of the sort. Teitoku had suggested exchanging phone numbers or email addresses but…

"I don't think that the level 5's should get along. That'll just make us a larger threat. I'd rather not become more of an enemy to Academy City then I already am by being a level 5. If the Board of Directors sees that we all became friends, they'll have to do something about it."

The three parted ways, Accelerator and Teitoku going one way and Aomi going another way.

"Aomi… what the hell does she think she's doing?" Teitoku said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"She didn't seem that bad of a girl. I could tell that she had killed people before, but I assumed it was in self-defense. But… now that I've seen this… I'm not so sure." Accelerator looked through the window again, but turned away quickly.

Teitoku got back on the computer and started looking through lab reports again.

"What the fuck?" He said as he read one, drawing the attention of the other two level 5's.

"What is it?" Accelerator asked. Teitoku clenched a fist, but managed to relax.

"The whole goal of this project is to make number 6 Dual-Skill."

"What?" Accelerator asked, staring at him. Even Shizuri seemed surprised to hear that.

"Dual-Skill is impossible." Shizuri pointed out. "How the hell do they plan to give her a second ability?"

"It's something they're working on." Teitoku said, reading through the lab report. "Right now, they're having her use Particle Disruption on live test subjects. They believe that if her mind gets to the point where doing anything with Particle Disruption is basically second nature to her, then using a second ability won't be impossible. They plan to give her a drug that's supposed to awaken a person's power. However, with modifications, they believe that they can make it to give her a second ability."

"That's the goal of this experiment? What the fuck's with that?" Accelerator asked, thinking about it. "What do they hope to accomplish by making a level 5 Dual-Skill?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Teitoku asked. "First of all, that will be the first Dual-Skill esper. That, alone, will be a major breakthrough. Second, if a powerful level 5 gains another ability that they can use at the same level…" He paused. "Then they will probably reach level 6. It's basically accomplishing two goals in one."

"That…" Accelerator trailed off before regaining himself. "We won't let that happen. We'll do anything to prevent it. I don't know who the hell she's killing to accomplish this, but there's no way I'm just going to sit by idly and watch it happen."

"I'm with you." Teitoku said. He looked over to Shizuri who hadn't said much. "Well? What are you going to do? If you keep trying to kill us, you'll just get hurt." Shizuri just looked at him and sighed.

"I'd really rather not team up with the rest of the level 5's. If we team up, then our enemy will be Academy City. I'd rather not fight against the entire city." She turned around to leave.

Teitoku wrote something on a piece of paper, crumbled it into a ball, and threw it at her as she walked away. Shizuri turned around and caught it. She opened it and read what was written.

"What the hell is this?" She asked.

"My phone number." Teitoku replied.

"I'm not going on a date with you." Shizuri replied bluntly.

"How the hell did you take it as that? I don't know if you'll change your mind about helping us or not, but if you do, give me a call. We can use any help we can get."

"….." Shizuri stared at him without saying anything for a bit. She turned around and started to leave the room. "We'll see…" With that, she left through the door.

Shizuri accepting the number didn't really mean that much to Teitoku. For all he knew, she could've just thrown it away or disintegrated it after she left. However, her ceasing her attack on them was the thing that he noticed. He smiled.

"Well, it doesn't seem that there are any more lab reports that are of any use. Most of the rest are just supplies." He paused. "And none of them seem to say who died in there."

"….." Accelerator looked from the window back to Teitoku. "Let's go." He said. "We should go tell Yumi and Shinobu what we found."

"Right."

The two made their way back to Shinobu's place, told the two girls to come with them and went straight over to Yumi's place. Teitoku knocked on the door a few times. The girl answered with a tired look on her face. She wore the same pajamas as last time in nearly the same state, except this time it showed more of her panties, making Teitoku and Accelerator blush a little.

"Yumi…" Teitoku said slowly. The girl looked at him tiredly. "Let's talk inside." The girl turned around and walked into the dorm room, the others following. Teitoku sat down at the table along with Accelerator and Yumi, while Misaka 1 and Shinobu sat on the bed.

The group remained silent for a while, the two boys not exactly knowing how to explain what they had found out. The silence became too much and Accelerator finally spoke up.

"We found some things about the project…" The group looked at him. He looked at Teitoku. "Care to explain?" Teitoku nodded and began his explanation.

"After breaking into a lab, we were able to go through some files in a computer there. The name of this experiment is 'Project Dual'. The goal of it is to produce a Dual-Skill esper." The group's eyes widened except for Accelerator who listened calmly. "The person who they will be using for this project is the number 6 ranked level 5 esper of Academy City…" He paused, before continuing again. "The Particle Disruptor. We believe the reason they chose to use her is because they knew that the rest of us level 5's wouldn't participate in a project like this. Also, I did see one record about how they produced a clone of Mikoto." He glanced at Misaka 1. "Like you said, there seemed to have been some error and the data they had on her DNA got deleted, so they were unable to make another clone of her. They thought it wouldn't be worth their time to try to make a clone of a clone, so they abandoned the idea entirely."

Misaka 1 looked down. Teitoku stood, walked over to her, and rubbed her head. She looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Misaka did not want to hurt you. Says Misaka as she apologizes sadly."

Teitoku leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay." He said. "I don't blame you. I know you were being used, but it's okay now. I'll protect you." Misaka 1's eyes widened as tears formed in them. She buried her face in Teitoku's shoulder, wrapping her arms around him and crying quietly. He held her there, gently stroking her head. "But…" He said, looking at the crying girl. "Knowing what they're doing is only the first step to stopping it. We still have a lot of work to do. We can't afford to sit idle for too long. We need to find number 6 and stop her from participating in this project."

"I agree." Accelerator said, standing. "Also, we need to find out who's behind all of this." The group looked at him, confused. "I don't believe SHIFT just helped whoever is doing this project out of the good of their hearts. I also don't think they're leading the project. I think somebody is manipulating everything from the shadows. Our next objective should be to find out the identity of this person."

"What makes you so sure?" Teitoku asked.

"Why would some random underground organization bother to make something as elaborate as Project Dual? No... This person is someone more powerful. Someone who has influence even over the Board of Directors. This person... They're either very confident that they can keep themselves hidden… or…" He paused. "Or they have a good reason not to fear us." He looked at Teitoku. "We may be driven to the depths of insanity and see horrifying things. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"…." Teitoku looked at the crying girl who looked back up at him. He felt a slight pain in his chest, though he couldn't tell what the feeling was. He leaned down some and looked the girl in the face. "Of course I want to do this." He smiled at the girl. "I don't want to abandon you."

Misaka 1 stared at him as more tears fell down her face. Then, to the shock of everybody in the room, the girl leaned forward and pressed her lips to those of the boy in front of her.

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**A/N: I bet none of you saw that coming! And if you did, then great! You're awesome! The rest of you, work harder!~~~**


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